(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fiber reinforced composite belt, and more specifically, it relates to a stainless steel fiber reinforced belt desirable as a conveyor belt or a drive belt.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
In general, a belt is fundamentally constituted of a metal, a plastic, a rubber or the like. Of these three kinds of materials, the belts basically made of the rubber are used in many fields and have a large demand, and therefore they are now utilized in a greater amount than the belts made of the metal and the plastic. Because the belts made of the metal and the plastic have drawbacks inherent in these materials, i.e., the metal tends to rust and the plastic is brittle (deterioration easily occurs). With regard to these two drawbacks, the belts made of the rubber do not have any problems. However, the belts made of the rubber are fundamentally poorer in mechanical strength, as compared with the belts made of the metal and the plastic. The various kinds of rubber belts have been used so far which have been synthesized by modifying the basic structures of the rubbers, but the rubber belts are no match for the metal belts in point of strength. For the improvement of the strength, other types of rubber belts have been used which are reinforced by disposing various fibers in the rotation direction of the rubber belts, and known examples of the above-mentioned fibers include a steel fiber, a glass fiber, an aramid fiber and a carbon fiber. However, the steel fiber inconveniently tends to rust. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-34547, another type of belt has been suggested in which an anti-corrosive agent synthesized from a paraffin base mineral oil or a naphthene base mineral oil is applied and buried. However, the suggested process is not considered to be satisfactory, because the process is complicated and slide occurs between the rubber and the reinforcing fiber. The glass fiber and the aramid fiber also have problems of hygroscopicity and the like. Furthermore, when used in the drive belt, a synthetic fiber, an organic fiber and the like generate a strange noise at the time of the rotation of the belt owing to a difference in coefficient of linear expansion between the fiber and a metal. In some cases, rotational frequency goes wrong, and incorrect operation occurs sometimes. As understood from the foregoing, the belts which are reinforced with the various fibers have the improved strength but involve other problems, and it cannot be recognized that these belts meet all the requirements.
As described above, in each of a metal fiber such as the steel fiber, inorganic fibers such as the glass fiber and the carbon fiber, and an organic fiber such as the aramid fiber, there are some advantages and disadvantages, and it is desired to develop a composite belt having all of these advantages.